ADVANCES IN TISSUE CULTURE FOR LEGUME IMPROVEMENT

Abstract

Legumes are vital for global food security, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture, yet their improvement is often hindered by species-specific recalcitrance and conventional breeding limitations. Tissue culture technologies have emerged as transformative tools, enabling rapid regeneration, somatic embryogenesis, haploid production, and in vitro mutagenesis to generate elite genotypes and novel genetic diversity. Their integration with molecular breeding, genome editing, and in vitro conservation has facilitated the development of stress-tolerant, disease-resistant, and nutritionally enhanced cultivars while safeguarding germplasm resources. Recent advances highlight the role of artificial intelligence, particularly machine learning models, in optimizing plant growth regulator combinations to overcome regeneration bottlenecks in recalcitrant legumes, thereby enhancing shoot regeneration frequency and efficiency. Coupled with high throughput phenotyping, mutational breeding, and genomics-based approaches, these computational innovations accelerate the exploitation of genetic diversity and introgression of novel traits beyond the natural legume gene pool. Collectively, tissue culture technologies, strengthened by AI-driven predictive modeling and precision phenotyping, stand as a cornerstone for sustainable legume improvement, addressing escalating global food and feed demands while meeting environmental challenges.